On 30 July 2019, a Beechcraft King Air of the Pakistan Army crashed near Bahria Town, Rawalpindi. All five crew members, as well as 13 civilians, were killed when the plane crashed into a residential area.[1]
Aircraft
The accident aircraft was a Beechcraft King Air 350i registered in 2011 as FL-766 and operated by the Pakistan Army.[2]
Accident
The accident occurred at 02:00 local time (07:00 GMT)[3] when a small Beechcraft King Air military plane operating a training flight for the Pakistan Army crashed into houses in the city of Rawalpindi, killing 18 people, many of whom were on the ground.[4]
However, according to a local rescue member who said that 19 bodies including those of the five crew members plus the bodies of 14 civilians were taken to a local hospital. Among the victims there is also a family of 8 people, including 4 children.[5]
Aftermath
According to a tweet from the Pakistani Government, Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished a good recovery to the injured.[6]
The accident has raised huge doubts about Pakistan's aviation safety due to many plane and helicopter crashes over the years. Among these are Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661 which occurred in 2016 when an ATR 42-500 crashed killing 47 occupants and AirBlue Flight 202 occurred in 2010 on an Airbus A321, which is considered the accident with the most victims on Pakistani soil with a total of 152 victims.[7]
Cause
The probable cause remains unknown, but it was reported by the BBC that the plane made a sharp turn shortly before the crash which may have led to the impact with residential structures.[3][8]
